Discussion: The Intrepid Informer: Issue #13

Introduction
By Phil "Synapse" Zeleski


I'm here once again to talk about a new power set. This time I'm going to be giving you the skinny on Street Justice! This new melee set is a primary powerset choice for Brutes, Scrappers and Stalkers and a secondary powerset choice for Tankers. I'm going to go great detail on how this set functions, I'll offer some helpful tips and tricks and finally I'll mention some possible character themes.

Street Justice offers is a single target focused melee set that delivers bone crushing blows, that said it also has a couple of very useful powers with some area of effect. This powerset introduces a new mechanic called Combo Levels. Each attack power in the set is designated as either being a combo builder or a finisher. Combo builders increase your combo level and finishers are boosted by your current combo level as well as setting your combo level back to 0. You can have a maximum Combo Level of 3. Street Justice's combo building mechanic is quite different from Dual Blades. Street Justice allows the user to build a combo out of whatever combo builder powers you have and close with any finisher powers you have. So, it might lack of the diversity of finisher effects that Dual Blades has, but it provides a much higher level of versatility. To top it off Street Justice allows you to use a finisher with any amount of Combo Levels, even if you have none. That said, your finishers will deal significantly more damage if used with Combo Levels.



Powers

Below you'll find the list of powers that make up the Street Justice powerset along with their short description, long description and some of my comments regarding each power. Please keep in mind that these powers and their descriptions are subject to change through the beta process.



Street Justice

Street Justice delivers punishing bone crushing attacks that weaken, disable or otherwise hinder their foes. This melee power set has no singular form of secondary effect. Instead, it has many ways to cripple enemies. Street Justice's attack powers come in two categories: Combo Builders and Finishers. Combo Builders add to your Combo Level and thus empower any Finishers you use. See individual powers for how they're improved by Combo Level. Combo Building powers can provide up to 3 levels of benefits. Build up to the third level before executing a Finisher for maximum effectiveness.

Below is a table showing which archetype gets which powers:



Initial Strike
Melee, Light DMG (Smash), Foe Disorient, Combo Builder



You deliver a pair of lightning fast blows to your opponent in an effort to throw them off balance. Initial Strike deals Light Smashing damage and has a small chance to disorient your target. Initial Strike is a Combo Builder and adds 1 Combo Level. Damage: Light, Recharge: Very Fast

Designer's Comments: Initial Strike is a very quick attack and is fantastic at low levels as it has a quick recharge time. This usefulness doesn't fade over time as it is a great power to quickly increase your Combo Level by 1 and deal some quick light damage, not to mention it can also stun most targets.

Heavy Blow
Melee, Moderate DMG (Smash), Foe Knockdown, Combo Builder



You strike your foe with a powerful punch dealing Moderate Smashing damage. Heavy Blow has a fair chance to knock the target off its feet. Heavy Blow is a Combo Builder and adds 1 Combo Level. Damage: Moderate, Recharge: Fast

Designer's Comments: Heavy Blow has a longer recharge than Initial Strike and a slightly longer cast time, but it delivers another fast hit that not only looks powerful, but it that can quickly increment your Combo Level by 1.

Sweeping Cross
Melee (Cone), High DMG (Smash), Foe Disorient, Finisher



You execute a sweeping right hook that can strike multiple targets in your frontal arc. Sweeping Cross deals High Smashing damage and can disorient foes. Sweeping Cross is a Finisher and resets your current Combo Level to 0. It will deal additional damage and will have a greater chance to disorient dependent upon the current Combo Level. At Combo Level 3, Sweeping Cross will also have a chance to knock down the affected targets. Damage: High, Recharge: Moderate

Designer's Comments: Sweeping Cross is your first finisher. It delivers solid damage in a narrow cone in front of you. As you increase your Combo Level this power's chance to disorient increases and at Combo Level 3 you now gain a chance to knock down affected foes.

Combat Readiness
Self, +DMG, +To Hit, Special



Activating this power will increase your chance to hit and the amount of damage you deal for a short amount of time as well as setting your current Combo Level to 3. Recharge: Long

Designer's Comments: Combat Readiness is Street Justice's answer to Build Up. It will provide a good to hit buff, a moderate damage buff and it will also set your Combo Level to 3. It's great for opening up with a punishing finisher or chaining two finishers together.

Rib Cracker
Melee, Moderate DMG (Smash), Foe -Res (All), -Dmg, Combo Builder

You deftly strike your foe in a very vulnerable location. Rib Cracker deals Moderate Damage but reduces your foe's Damage and Resistance moderately for a short time. Rib Cracker is a Combo Builder and adds 1 Combo Level. Damage: Moderate, Recharge: Fast.

Designer's Comments: Rib Cracker deals slightly more damage than Heavy Blow, but has a slightly higher recharge time. However, it can provide a useful damage resistance and damage debuff to its target. This is great for allowing both you and your team to deal a little more damage to this target as well as causing them to deal a little less damage.

Taunt
Ranged (Targeted AoE), Foe Taunt

Taunt foes to attack you. Useful to pull enemies off allies and keep them attacking you to raise your Fury. A To-Hit check is required to Taunt enemy players, but is not needed against critter targets. Recharge: Fast

Designer's Comments: Brutes and Tankers naturally get Taunt (their AoE taunt power) and Scrappers get Confront (their single target taunt power).

Spinning Strike
Melee (Targeted AoE), Heavy DMG (Smash), Foe Knockdown, Finisher



You execute a spinning attack that first strikes with your fist and finally your heel hitting your foe and all enemies immediately nearby. Spinning Strike deals Heavy Smashing damage and has a high chance to knockdown foes. Spinning Strike is a Finisher and sets your Combo Level to 0. It will deal additional damage and will have a greater chance to knockdown dependent upon the current Combo Level. At Combo Level 3, Spinning Strike also has a moderate chance to briefly inflict Terrorize in nearby foes. Damage: High, Recharge: Slow

Designer's Comments: This power will make up the bulk of the area of effect damage for the set. It recharges fairly quickly, deals great damage, but has a smaller area of effect than other melee AoE powers. Also, unlike most melee AoE powers it is targeted instead of player based area of effect (PBAOE). Spinning Strike can knock down foes, this chance increases with additional Combo Levels. If used with Combo Level 3 it will also have a good chance to inflict terrorize, causing targets to tremble in place.

Shin Breaker
Melee, Superior DMG (Smashing), Foe -Speed, -Defense, Combo Builder

You execute a quick but powerful kick targeting your foe's leg in an attempt to cripple their movement. Shin Breaker deals Superior Smashing damage and moderately reduces your target's movement speed and defense for a short time. Shin Breaker is a Combo Builder and adds 1 Combo Level. Damage: Superior, Recharge: Slow

Designer's Comments: Shin Breaker deals excellent damage, has a short cast time and a fairly quick recharge time. It's great for making sure your foe doesn't easily escape as well as making them easier to hit.

Crushing Uppercut
Melee, Extreme DMG (Smash), Foe Knock Up, Disorient, Finisher



You perform a jaw breaking Crushing Uppercut on your target inflicting Extreme Smashing damage and knocking them into the air. Crushing Uppercut will leave the target disoriented for a short time. Crushing Uppercut is a Finisher and will set your Combo Level to 0. It will deal additional damage and have a longer disorient duration dependent upon the current Combo Level. At Combo Level 3, Crushing Uppercut will have its disorient effect upgraded to a Hold effect. Damage: Extreme, Recharge: Slow

Designer's Comments: Crushing Uppercut is the big hitter in the set. It deals incredible damage and its chance to disorient increases with Combo Level. However, this disorient effect is replaced by a hold at Combo Level 3.



Stalker Powers

Below are the powers that are exclusive to the Stalker version of Street Justice.

Assassin's Strike
Melee, Special DMG (Smash), Combo Builder



A signature Stalker attack. This attack does moderate smashing damage on its own as a frontal attack. However, if it is executed while you are Hidden, this attack will do tremendous damage, as you waylay your unsuspecting foe. This attack may be interrupted if you move or are attacked while executing this power. Assassin's Strike is a Combo Builder and adds 2 Combo Levels. Damage: Special, Recharge: Slow

Designer's Comments: No Stalker primary power set choice would be complete without Assassin's Strike. The great feature of this power is that it builds 2 Combo Levels instead of the standard 1.

Build Up
Self +DMG, +To Hit

Greatly increases the amount of damage you deal for a few seconds, as well as slightly increasing your chance to hit. Recharge: Long

Designer's Comments: Stalkers get Build Up instead of Combat Readiness.

Placate
Ranged, Foe Placate, Self Stealth/Hide



Allows you to trick a foe to no longer attack you. A Successful Placate will also Hide you. This Hide is very brief, and offers no Defense bonus, but it will allow you to deliver a Critical Hit or an Assassins Strike. However, if you attack a Placated Foe, he will be able to attack you back. Recharge: Long

Designer's Comments: As one would expect, Stalkers get Placate.



Tips and Tricks

Below are some tips and tricks for Street Justice that may suit your play style. These tips aren't intended to be the definitive method for playing Street Justice, but they may help you come up with your own preferred way for playing this set.

• Know which finisher to use.
  
  • If you have a group of foes bunched up in front of you Spinning Strike is likely the winner. If you don't have Spinning Strike, or the power is recharging Sweeping Cross can be incredibly useful.
    
  • If you have a single target you want to burn down quickly Crushing Uppercut is the clear choice for finishers.
• Building Combos
  
  • There really is no wrong way to build a combo since combo builders don't have a specific order in which they need to be used.
    
  • Assassin's Strike awards 2 Combo Levels! You'll only need to follow Assassin's Strike with 1 other attack before executing a Finisher. An effective combination is Build Up-->Assassin's Strike-->Placate-->Shin Breaker-->Finisher. This will deliver devastating damage to the target of Assassin's Strike. Use Placate on a second target to prevent them from attacking you, then re-target the initial target with Shin Breaker if they're still standing. This will likely finish them off. Whatever Finisher you use should be influenced by your situation.
• Don't underestimate the secondary effects of Combo Level Finishers.
  
  • Street Justice is quite capable of a fair amount of soft and hard control. Crushing Uppercut will hold most targets if you have Combo Level 3. Sweeping Cross has a good chance to stun most targets and has a fair chance to also knock them down if you have Combo Level 3. Lastly, but also probably most importantly, Spinning Strike has a chance to knockdown foes, and can inflict terrorize on most targets if you have Combo level 3.
    
  • These effects can provide you with a measure of additional damage mitigation for both you and your team.
• Focus on the big guy!
  
  • A tactic that I find to be quite useful is to focus all of your single target attacks on the toughest enemy in the spawn. Then line yourself up to hit his weaker allies with the area of effect from Sweeping Cross and Spinning Strike whenever possible. This guarantees that you're weakening the toughest target in the spawn and also taking dealing good incidental splash damage.
• Chaining Finishers
  
  • If you're looking to deal a ton of area of effect damage very quickly to a tightly grouped spawn few combos are as effective as build 3 combo levels then using Sweeping Cross-->Combat Readiness-->Spinning Strike or Spinning Strike-->Combat Readiness-->Sweeping Cross. This means you'll be inflicting two Combo Level 3 attacks back to back.

Themes

Street Justice thematically pairs with most defensive sets well depending upon origin, as the character can heavily lean upon your defensive set to explain your backstory. Whether you're a hand to hand combat specialist with military training, a high-tech face punching robot, a mutant who can manipulate flame (who happens to be quite proficient in melee combat), a scientist who has increased their physical prowess with some sort of super serum or a sorcerer who possesses artifacts that cause their wounds to heal quickly that relies on brute force to survive Street Justice can fit into just about any theme imaginable. It pairs well with the more "super" defensive sets as well as it does the more natural feeling ones. I look forward to see what amazing character concepts you come up with!

Phil "Synapse" Zeleski

Originally Posted by Nethergoat it's NEVER too late to pad your /ignore list!

Mine too! The animation on Spinning strike ALONE is worth the points. lol

The Electric-Knight ______ Malfaz _____ Zox'Oculox

@Zethustra

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Question: This seems to have been written up during the Closed Beta. Why the heck has this been posted the day AFTER it was released to the live market?

Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters

I'd assume it's to raise hype and awareness for the set.

No, you misunderstand. I meant that this has been in the developer's hands for at least a month and a half, if not 3-4 months. Why the heck wasn't this put on the website before the set was put on the market? How are players expected to do any research prior to purchase if the developers are not going to disclose the information?

Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters

I would guess that the timing was chosen to enable the excited reader to take immediate action and buy the powerset, rather than have a day or several to think about it and maybe cool their jets.

I showed 'em. I bought the set before reading the write up. So there. :P

If Snow Globe is going to destroy all the carbon units on the third planet, the information will not be disclosed.

The thing is that I'm not asking for any revenue to do so. Besides, I'm not going to destroy the carbon units as there would be:

• No place to store my stuff.
• A huge mess that I wouldn't want to have to clean up myself.
• No one to serve me.

Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters